The Conqueror is a 1956 American CinemaScope epic film directed by Dick Powell and written by Oscar Millard. The film stars John Wayne as the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan and co-stars Susan Hayward, Agnes Moorehead, and Pedro Armendáriz. Produced by entrepreneur Howard Hughes, the film was principally shot near St. George, Utah. Despite the stature of the cast, the film was a critical flop; it is often ranked as one of the worst films of the 1950s and one of the worst ever.[4] Wayne, who was at the height of his career, had lobbied for the role after reading the script and was widely believed to have been grossly miscast.[5] The Conqueror was listed in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time. Wayne was posthumously named a "winner" of a Golden Turkey Award for his performance in the film. Reportedly, Hughes felt guilty about his decisions regarding the film's production,[6] particularly over the decision to film at a hazardous site (see Cancer controversy below). He bought every print of the film for $12 million and kept it out of circulation for many years until Universal Pictures purchased the film from his estate in 1979.[7][8] The Conqueror, along with Ice Station Zebra,[9] is said to be one of the films Hughes watched endlessly during his last years. wrote: